Category Archives: Advertising

Strangers on the internet — Exchanging glances

September 8, 2018 by Vickie Lester

Wondering on the internet What were the chances… Hello, Mercury! Sorry, got distracted there for a minute. Shall we get reacquainted? I used to post here all the damn time about things that struck my fancy, like Hollywood history, cool architecture, and fabulous books. Then I self-published a novel, and poppets, I did go on and on. Then a couple of things happened, I was in the midst of writing another book when the political scene went cockeyed, and I […]

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Publishing, Story, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: #amwriting, Aldous Huxley, Anita Loos, Hollywood novel, narrative, rewrite, voice

“Our office lunches consisted of peanut butter and Jello sandwiches, served with slugs of vodka.” Nicky Haslam

February 2, 2018 by Vickie Lester

The world was interconnected, even before the Internet. Nicky Haslam worked with Diana Vreeland (peanut butter and Jello?), who was a dear friend of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, seen here reading Jack Kerouac’s ON THE ROAD. Just this morning I was walking when I saw a neighbor sitting on his front step, scarf wrapped around his neck, cigarette in one hand, book in another, intently reading the same thing in the first rays of the sun. A book is a gateway […]

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Cooking, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Film, Friendship, Gastronomy, History, Hollywood, Life, Literature, London, Memoir, New York, Photography, Publishing, Recipes, Story, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: author William Kuhn, cookbook, decorator Nicky Haslam, Diana Vreeland, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jello, Lady Diana Cooper, Nicky Haslam, Reading Jackie, unbound

Shh! I’m reading.

October 13, 2017 by Vickie Lester

For ten days author William Kuhn and I have been talking about writing, reading, screenplays, books, black and white photography, Los Angeles, the dream factory, and what and who we love. A tall order and today we wrap it all up. But I wanted you, dear readers, to know some of the most astute things I’ve read about reading and writing come from the pen of my friend, and they are in the book above. I’m going to quote now. […]

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Publishing, Story, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: another reason I love L.A., author William Kuhn, book editor, interview, Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Reading Jackie, Susannah Corwin, why I write

Stardust – Joan Crawford

September 30, 2017 by Vickie Lester

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Film, History, Hollywood, Life, Los Angeles, Movies, Photography, Story, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized • Tags: actress, art deco, behind the scenes, celebrities, Classic Movies, design, fashion, film, George Hurrell, glamour photography, history, Hollywood, JoanCrawford, Los Angeles, Movie Star, Old Hollywood, photography

Words to live by, especially if you’re a writer, with pizzazz from Diana Vreeland

September 29, 2017 by Vickie Lester

There’s another marvelous memoir, from the amazing Diana Vreeland, you might be interested in reading. Her autobiography reads like a novel. This extract resonates with me because of its delicious contradiction: “Truth is a hell of a big point with me. Now I exaggerate—always.” DV Do I? But of course. And that’s the essence of It’s in His Kiss: truth, exaggerated…

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, History, Hollywood, Life, Literature, Memoir, Movies, Mystery, New York, Photography, Publishing, Romance, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: #amwriting another novel about Hollywood, #hollywoodnovel, #itsinhiskissbyvickielester, available on Amazon, available on Kindle, DV, today is Diana Vreeland birthday, Vogue, words to live by

Imagine a playwright writing a character four centuries ago that is still vividly familiar to us today… William Kuhn

September 6, 2017 by Vickie Lester

M.B. What inspired you to write a story with Prince Harry as your main character? W.K. I saw a production of Shakespeare’s two Henry IV plays. I was surprised to find how much Shakespeare’s Prince Hal resembles the modern Prince Harry. Isn’t it great when someone from today suddenly illuminates a Renaissance text? Imagine a playwright writing a character four centuries ago that is still vividly familiar to us today. Source: William Kuhn – Fascinated by History, Politics and Popular […]

Categories: Advertising, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Life, Literature, London, Los Angeles, Movies, Photography, Publishing, Story, Theater, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: A little laughter in grim times is better than Xanax, book promotion, British, Laurence Olivier, manybooks, monarchy, Prince Harry Boy to Man, Shakespeare, William Kuhn

Free! On Kindle! You won’t be able to put it down…

September 5, 2017 by Vickie Lester

“It’s about a lazy prince. Nobody thinks he’s got a brain. All he does is drink and joke around and hang out with lowlifes in the bar. Even his father thinks he’s a zero. Then all of a sudden, he has to go to war. Nobody thinks he can hack it. He’s had all the money and he’s never had any responsibility. So they’re convinced he’s a loser. And you can’t rely on him.” “Are you joking?” said Harry in […]

Categories: Advertising, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Literature, London, Photography, Publishing, Story, Theater, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: A little laughter in grim times is better than Xanax, British, historian, I love being in London, monarchy, Prince Harry Boy to Man, Shakespeare, The Art of Fiction, William Kuhn

“A little laughter in grim times is better than Xanax.” an interview with author, William Kuhn

July 23, 2017 by Vickie Lester

I had the happy chance to meet William Kuhn through his bookshelves before I met him in person. In 2015 my husband was working on a film in Boston, and after subletting the author’s apartment, he wrote to me, “Come here and stay, you will love it.” On a humid hot night at the beginning of August I arrived. The Mister walked to the train station to meet me, and we bumped my suitcase a few short blocks over cobbled […]

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, History, Life, Literature, London, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Publishing, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: A little laughter in grim times is better than Xanax, author, British, Henry James, historian, I love being in London, interview, monarchy, Prince Harry Boy to Man, The Art of Fiction, William Kuhn

I am a woman of a certain age…

March 25, 2017 by Vickie Lester

Hello, poppets! If you’re wondering what that “certain age” is specifically in my case, it’s 57. An interesting age, to be sure. For instance, the other day I was out walking with the Mister down a leafy street lined with elegant old homes and he said something about a situation being “generally under control.” I halted abruptly and turned around, anxiously looking up and down an emerald green lawn. He said, “What are you doing?” I replied, “You said there […]

Categories: Advertising, Art, Blogging, Books, Culture, Design, Entertainment, fashion, Fiction, Film, Friendship, Gardening, History, Hollywood, Humor, Life, Literature, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Photography, Story, Travel, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: #amwriting, #hollywoodnovel, #itsinhiskissbyvickielester, #losangeles, a woman of a certain age, Hollywood facts turned into fiction, how the internet is saving culture, menopause, the Mister, would I lie to you

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